Study Sotah folio 21B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אומר בן עזאי: חייב אדם ללמד את וכו׳. רבי אליעזר אומר: כל המלמד את בתו תורה — מלמדה תיפלות. תיפלות סלקא דעתך? אלא אימא: כאילו למדה תיפלות.
§ The Mishnah states: From here ben Azzai states: A person is obligated to teach his daughter Torah, so that if she drinks and does not die immediately, she will know that some merit of hers has delayed her punishment. R' Eliezer says: Anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is teaching her promiscuity. The Talmud asks: Could it enter your mind to say that teaching one’s daughter Torah is actually teaching her promiscuity? Rather, say: It is considered as if he taught her promiscuity.
אמר רבי אבהו: מאי טעמא דרבי אליעזר, דכתיב: ״אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה״, כיון שנכנסה חכמה באדם — נכנסה עמו ערמומית.
R' Abbahu says: What is the reason for R' Eliezer’s statement? It is as it is written: “I, wisdom, reside with cunning” (Proverbs 8:12), which indicates that once wisdom enters into a person, cunning enters with it. R' Eliezer fears that the woman will use the cunning she achieves by learning the wisdom of the Torah to engage in promiscuous behavior.
ורבנן, האי ״אני חכמה״ מאי עבדי ליה? מיבעי ליה לכדרבי יוסי ברבי חנינא. דאמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא: אין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שמעמיד עצמו ערום עליהן, שנאמר: ״אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה״. אמר רבי יוחנן: אין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שמשים עצמו כמי שאינו, שנאמר: ״והחכמה מאין תמצא״.
The Talmud asks: And the Rabbis who disagree with him, what do they do with this verse: “I, wisdom, reside with cunning [orma]”; how do they interpret it? The Talmud responds: He requires that verse for that which R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, states, interpreting the word “orma” as nakedness rather than cunningness, as R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, says: The matters of Torah do not endure except in one who stands naked for them, as it is stated: “I, wisdom, reside with nakedness [orma]” (Proverbs 8:12). This means that wisdom dwells only in one who is prepared to give away all of his possessions for the sake of Torah study. R' Yoḥanan says: The matters of Torah do not endure except in one who considers himself as one who does not exist, as it is stated: “But wisdom, it can be found in nothingness” (Job 28:12).